DIXON – In front of a raucous crowd at Dixon High School, the hometown Bulldogs improved to 4-0 with a 46-19 victory over North Duplin on Friday night.

The Bulldogs led 26-12 at halftime. The second half then belonged to Dixon running back Malik Simmons, who started the third quarter with a 64-yard touchdown run up the middle.

Simmons scored again on a 78-yard run after the Dixon defense held tough by forcing a turnover on downs.

Simmons finished with 200 yards rushing, including 140 in the second half. He had three touchdowns for the Bulldogs, who visit Lejeune next week.

“I just needed to calm down, be more patient, and have trust in my lineman,” Simmons said. “I just needed to run better.”

He did just that in the second half. His mastery continued with a 6-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Simmons was complemented by quarterback Robbi Wyble, who finished with for 115 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries. Deangelo Williams finished with 50 yards rushing and a touchdown on four carries for the Bulldogs, who accounted 373 rushing yards.

Dixon got off to a hot start, scoring on its opening possession on a 6-yard run by Richie Fullerton to take a 7-0 lead.

On its second possession, Dixon continued to drive with ease. After a couple of first downs, quarterback Robbi Wyble scampered for a 57-yard touchdown run behind superb blocking.

All of the sudden Dixon led 13-0.

After North Duplin answered with a 15-yard touchdown by Daron Goodman, Dixon fought right back with a drive that ended with a 35-yard score along the right side by Deangelo Williams.

The back and forth scoring continued late in the second quarter when Savon Scott capped a North Duplin scoring drive with a 4-yard touchdown up the gut.

Immediately after the score, North Duplin added a little trickery with a surprise onside kick, in which they recovered. The momentum didn’t last for long, as Dixon’s Jacob Rochelle recovered a North Duplin fumble around midfield.

It was a moment that showcased the Bulldogs’ resiliency.

“We preach adversity. I would like to think that we’ve taught them how to deal with adversity, but that’s just who these kids are,” Dixon coach Brandon Iseman said. “They’re blue-collar kids that bring their hard hats and come to play.”

Dixon capitalized on the turnover with a scoring drive that ended with another scoring run by Wyble from 11 yards out with 30 seconds left in the first half.

That gave the Bulldogs a 26-12 lead at halftime.

The defense was not to be outdone, forcing four North Duplin fumbles and recovering three. North Duplin also mishandled several snaps, which is an ode to the Dixon defensive line, which played well in the trenches.

Page 2 of 2 - “I just think we took the momentum,” Iseman said. “That second half was much better football. You can’t teach effort, and my kids lay it on the line.”

North Duplin scored late in the fourth quarter on a 33-yard touchdown run by James Britt, but it was too little too late.